Eat ~ Build ~ Grow, something good

All posts filed under: Steak

So… when I was a kid, our choices for steak night out were limited to: 1). A place called Harvey’s that had their menus printed on happy steer-shaped paper place-mats or 2). A place called Buddy’s, a noisy place complete with red shiynl banquettes, wood paneling, and air permeated with the thick aromas of steak fat, french dressing and cigarettes (it was the 60’s.) … we ate at Buddy’s more times than not. And although all that up there now sounds really terrible, it was something really special back then. Even now I can close my eyes and be in the restaurant. All those smells, aromas, and memories of the six of us packed into a corner booth – eating our iceberg salad with the crackers, tomato wedges and onion rings awash in dressing – waiting on our steaks to arrive in those sizzle plates, the juices pooling into those odd tree-shaped valleys in the center of the platter come flooding back. Besides, I have to give it to them, they really did make a good steak. I …

Photo courtesy of Popular Mechanics – May 1968 When we were kids, my dad lived for the Popular Mechanics Weekend Project. Summer 1968 endeared us to the Wishing Well BBQ project …an attractive addition to any patio! Unfortunately, my father was a very cautious man, and felt the project as shown invited a few too many opportunities for disaster. The charcoal bin and coal hopper offered just a ream of chances for fire – so it was eliminated. The roof was just a bit too close to the fire – so the pitch was changed and raised The low grill deck invited tiny fingers – so it was raised and reinforced. The resulting finished BBQ didn’t really look very much like the project. It was a substantial fortress in which to provide charred meats to the family… and protect everyone for even the slightest chance of burn injury. And, it didn’t really work. The base redesign cut off most of the air supply needed to feed the coals, and the reworked roof funneled copious amounts of smoke directly …